Briana DeJesus' Daughter's Heart Condition: Everything We Know

Teen Mom 2 star Briana DeJesus has been open with fans about her daughter Stella’s health struggles after revealing in October 2017 that she was diagnosed with a potentially dangerous heart defect. Most recently, Briana has shared that her youngest child must wear a heart monitor after another health scare sent the child to the hospital in November 2021.

“Our new friend for the next month. (Cardiac event monitor),” Briana shared on Instagram, along with a photo of Stella, born in July 2017, on Monday, November 15. “You guys have been asking! She is okay but Stella has to wear this 24/7 to keep track of her heart.”

In 2017, Stella was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect (VSD), which Briana revealed on an episode of Teen Mom 2 caused her daughter to have three holes in her heart.

“Luckily the holes don’t grow, they’re kind of small,” the MTV alum told her sister, Britney, in the October episode. “People live their lives with holes in their heart … they’re fine. [The doctor] just wants to keep an eye on it.”

A cardiac event monitor is given to patients who are showing symptoms of heart conditions like VSD, including shortness of breath and fast heart rate. According to John Hopkins Medicine, these devices record the heart’s electrical activity and transmit the information directly to a healthcare provider.

Briana, who shares Stella with ex-boyfriend Luis Hernandez and has an older daughter, Nova, with ex-boyfriend Devoin Austin, admitted in January 2021 that due to Stella’s ongoing healthcare scared, she feels she is suffering “PTSD,” according to a since-deleted Tweet.

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“She used to get sick every other weekend when she was a baby so any sign of her looking, sounding or acting sick, I get the worst anxiety,” she wrote at the time.

“She’s such a brave girl,” Briana wrote shortly after Stella visited a children’s hospital in Orlando. “Stella is so resilient. Mom guilt is so harsh but looking at this photo just brings me [ease because] as long I see a smile on her face, I also have one.”

Keep scrolling to learn everything we know about Briana’s daughter Stella’s health battles.

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Terrifying Health Scare

Just over a week after sharing the good news, Briana rushed then 13-month-old Stella to the hospital again.

“Stella was sick a week prior with a fever of 104,” she told Us Weekly at the time. After the temperature was stabilized, Briana realized Stella was having difficulty moving her arms.

“I thought maybe she had an accident at daycare,” she told the outlet. However, to be safe, she brought Stella to the ER, where an MRI was performed on her joints.

Doctors explained that Stella had contracted a painful infection called septic arthritis — a condition that occurs more in children than adults.

“The doctor said nobody really knows how one gets it,” Briana said. “A simple bug bite or scratch can open up flesh and bacteria can travel.”

Surgery Is Needed

Treatment for septic arthritis includes draining the joint with a needle or during surgery, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“She was under sedation for four hours, and I couldn’t do anything but just wait,” Briana told Us Weekly at the time. Thankfully, the surgery was a success and Stella was expected to have an easy recovery.

Heart Monitor

Following the visit to the hospital, Stella was taken to a cardiologist specialist.

“Today we had a very important appointment and I was just a nervous wreck but Stella on the other hand — handled it like a champ!” Briana wrote on Instagram. She later shared a photo of Stella holding up a peace sign while showing her heart monitor, which she is expected to wear “24/7” for a month.